UN and Samoa: 2014 Small Islands Sustainability Conference

Apia, Samoa, 1 April 2013 -
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and
Social Affairs Wu Hongbo is leading a UN planning mission to
Samoa to prepare for the 2014 Third International Conference
on Small Island Developing States. Mr. Wu is also
Secretary-General of the Conference.

Countries agreed at
last year’s Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development
that greater efforts were needed to assist small island
developing States and called for convening a conference in
2014. The General Assembly has accepted Samoa’s offer to
host the Conference.

Mr. Wu will meet with Samoan Prime
Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sa’ilele Malielegaoi on 2
April and will tour the proposed conference site.

The
Samoa Conference will follow up on the outcomes of the two
previous international conferences on small island
developing States held in Barbados in 1994 and Mauritius in
2005.

“Small island developing States are on the
frontlines of sustainable development and despite their
unique vulnerabilities, they never shy away from tackling
head-on the social, economic and environmental challenges
facing their communities”, says Mr. Wu. “The world
should take notice how these countries are dealing with a
range of economic, social and environmental issues,
including the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea
levels and extreme weather events. The Samoa Conference will
help guide us all toward a sustainable future.”

“The
decision to hold a small island developing States review
meeting in 2014 is important and timely,” Samoa Prime
Minister Malielegaoi told the General Assembly in September.
“Coincidentally, 2014 holds special significance for
Samoa. Barring any natural catastrophes, we will graduate
from the category of Least Developed Countries on 1 January
that year.

“We want to underscore that through genuine
partnerships with development partners our Small Island
Developing State, also a least developed country, is able to
markedly lift the socio-economic situation of our country
and the standard of living for our people.” He added the
success of meetings “should be measured on the quality of
the decisions and commitments agreed to, not just on costs
and number of participants considerations only.”

At
Rio+20, countries agreed that small island developing States
remain a special case for sustainable development because of
their small size, their remoteness, small natural resource
base and because they are especially vulnerable to extreme
weather events and the impacts of climate change.

The
dates for the Samoa conference have not yet been set by the
General Assembly, although it is likely that it will take
place in September,
2014.

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall. UN Photo/P. Sudhakaran More>>